Catharsis

Freelancing can be exciting, addictive and by times counter-productive. Like a circus act spinning plates in the air on the end of long sticks, freelancers live in a constant state of dynamic tension.  So long as the plates are kept spinning they stay aloft, but if neglected they tend to wobble and eventually crash to the floor.

This winter I laid my soul bare on the light table. For several cold, gray months, I risked dropping a few plates so that I could take a long hard critical look at my past 10 years of photography hoping to better understand the path I’m on and to count the cost of a call to media as a mission.

The results were humbling.

Grad class for the self-taught.

Tossing 90% of 20,000 slides was gut wrenching and to be perfectly honest to whoever told me to pursue photography back at the outset – you were either prophetic or exceedingly gracious.  But to those who did speak forth… thank you!

Winter is gone.  Buds are popping, birds are beginning to strut their stuff and I can now honestly say that I have finally arrived at a good place from which to begin.

A Sticky Note

From behind the travel agent’s desk, a timid young woman handed me a ‘Post-It’ note, folded despite it being already small.  The 2008 Olympics were being held in the next country over and I was learning that security throughout the region was tight – the local customs office was denying all visa applications, which tossed a large spanner into the gears of my travel plans.  This came as no surprise for a number of my friends here. For them, security is tight in the best of times, for the country of which I speak does not tolerate evangelical Christians.

A sticky question.

Now I know scripture tells me to always be prepared to give an account of the hope that I hold; I did not want to deny anything.  Still, a yes to the wrong person could potentially place several new friends of mine in harms way.  I paused long enough to ask for guidance and then ambiguously replied, “Are you?”

“Yes!” she beamed, and instinctively glanced around to see if her office mates had noticed.

“That’s a good thing,” I said beaming back.

Soon I was on my way with a cash refund and a fresh set of tickets.

In some parts of the world, they call that fellowship.

Man Bites Dog

Hanoi, VN – A skinny waiter steps toward our table as I flip through a grease-stained menu of items I cannot pronounce.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” I say to Steve seated across from me.

The waiter, now standing beside us, puts a pen to a thin pad of paper and without looking up says, “No horse, but dog fresh today.”

I look over at Steve who is even hungrier than me. He looks up at the waiter and asks, “Does that come with rice?”

Turns out, it does.

By their fruit you shall know them

We’ve been hanging out with twenty kids at the Ban San Faan Home outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand who despite the absence of birth parents will capture your heart and challenge your faith with the reality of their Heavenly Father.

Photo: Abbey and Daniel enjoy the fruit of their labor after picking lychee.

During my visit with these great kids, I was blessed with the chance to develop a brochure for the home to be used to tell folks both near and far of the fine work being done to raise a next generation of good and godly leaders for the community.

The local printer quite fairly estimates the cost to produce 1,000 full-colour, glossy brochures is 9,000 baht (about $300 US -that’s 3 cents a copy!). Talk about an investment opportunity for someone out there to do a world of good by helping spread the word of what Ban San Faan are doing… If interested, please do drop me a line and I’ll hook you up with a chance to help make a real difference in the world.

Young monks

Chiang Mai, Thailand – Microsoft’s Windows VISTA offers dim hope for enlightenment during the convocation ceremony for these novice monks at Wat Pantao in the core of the moat-bound city.  Still, it’s interesting to see the role new media is playing in the world these days.

Songkran: Thai New Year

WATER FIGHT!!! What began centuries ago as a traditional celebration of the Thai astrological new year has devolved into a friendly national water fight geared to stave off the hottest days of the Thai year.

A hundred years ago, younger Thais would travel to their parent’s place to give gifts to the beloved elders and receive a ‘blessing’ of jasmine-scented water poured gently over their shoulder in exchange.

Now, the event has gone mainstream where folks line the streets with buckets, hoses and supersoaker squirtguns to dowse any and all passers by with a special eye toward falang (foreigners). Two things are very important to remember… (1) it’s all in good fun, (2) keep your mouth closed because the water is probably coming from open storm water canals, or in the case of Chiang Mai… the royal moat.

Siam, I am

Family is on the move today, leaving our visit with street kids and the urban poor of the Philippine Islands to live and work with Ban San Faan children’s home in Thailand. We don’t leave Asia, but we do change venues – from a predominately Roman Catholic, post-fascist democracy to a mystical mix of monarch and monastery – there’s a world of difference.

In Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej has recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Now the longest living, longest reigning king in the history of Thailand. Long live the king!

Takin’ it to the streets (AWANA)

The PBJ ministry (Philippine Basketball for Jesus) children’s AWANA-style program:

One dozen volunteers, 70 street kids and 2 glorious hours of Christ-centered fun and games: a bright window through the grey backdrop of metro-Manila’s urban poor…

Enough talk… sign up HERE and come see for yourself!

Yo ho, me hearties… yo ho!

On the small island of Panglao, south of Bohol, in the middle of the Philippine archipelago, local fishermen have turned dolphin watching into an commercial art form, but when it comes to choosing a boat – let the buyer beware!

What began for us as a 3-hour tour almost turned into an episode from Gilligan’s Island. Seems the captain who a friend arranged for us had hit a 40-proof storm the night prior and forgot to fuel up before our departure.

As such, we were forced to hail a passing boat so the first mate could swim with a jerry can for petrol.

Alas, we never did see any dolphins but did manage to snorkel for a good bit and were blown away by life on the reef. Lunch of grilled tuna was grand as well, though that’s also when we learned the captain had been quaffing back ale during our swim. Ah, must be the Island way, says me as we headed for home. That’s when the tiller broke leaving us to wind our way back to port with the mate manhandling the rudder while the captain dozed in the cockpit

All things in stride, it was an awesome day! But for any of you dolphin lovers out there looking for a boat… here are my top 10 list when shopping for your ride:

1. Do the eyes have it? (red eyes in morning, sailors take warning)
2. How many other passengers are coming? (overloading is good business, but bad boating)
3. How’s the construction? Solid carved hulls are better than plywood bottomed boats (they slice better)
4. Are the decks clean and lines coiled?
5. How’s the paint? (a well cared for ship means pride in ownership or a recent insurance claim)
6. Is the gas tank full
7. Are earplugs available? (single stroke engines are loud)
8. Do life jackets cost extra?
9. Is it a guaranteed trip? (no dolphin, no pay)
10. Were all your questions answered, “No problem!”? That’s a problem.

By the way, we found a better boat the next day…

Fair winds and Godspeed to y’all!

Don’t feed the animals

Now halfway into a short-term mission tour of SE Asia; it’s time for a family break to debrief and unwind from the constant cultural adjustments that we’ve been making since arriving here almost 2 months ago. We decide to work with a tour guide for a couple of days as we settle into Tagbilarin, Bohol and let someone else do the planning for a while.

Things start well enough. We are housed in the wonderful guest accommodations of the Dao Diamond Bed & Breakfast, a conference and guest house staffed entirely by deaf-dumb, yet very competent Filippino men and women. From this central point, we take daytrips to visit the famed 16th-century Baclayan church.

Our guide makes sure we see Tarsier monkeys (the smallest primates in the world), cross a crazy hanging bridge, dine on a riverboat cruise, and of course view the spectacular Chocolate Hills of Bohol.

(Click to enlarge)

But at this point, things start to get weird… Far and away the most bizzaro site we see is at the cage of one of the largest reptiles in captivity: Prony, the 30′ python. Thing is, it’s not the snake that is scary. It’s the balding transvestite that lip-syncs a song while swinging upside down from the rafters of a gazebo beside the snake pen.

Maybe this would be better if the guy didn’t lose control of his comb-over? Then again, maybe that’s part of the act. Regardless, the whole performance leaves us all quite speechless.